Now that tax season is in the rearview mirror, investors can get back to contributing to their retirement portfolios, including individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Good news for investors: IRA contribution limits are moving up.Investors under 50 years old can now contribute up to $6,000 per year to traditional and Roth IRAs while individuals 50 years old and older can add another $1,000 to that figure, according to the IRS.For investors that enjoy building their retirement portfolios themselves, ETFs are among the ideal vehicles for use in tax-advantaged accounts, such as IRAs. As has been widely noted, many of the best ETFs are also inexpensive, providing a significant benefit to long-term investors.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsMany of the best retirement ETFs for consideration in IRAs should be cheap funds because high fees can erode long-term total returns. Additionally, ETFs help investors efficiently access an array of asset classes, helping bolster portfolio diversification. * The 10 Best Stocks to Buy for May Here are some of the best retirement ETFs to consider if you're looking to make additions to your IRAs. SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.35% per year, or $35 on a $10,000 investment.Some of the best retirement ETFs are dividend funds. The SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:SDY), one of the largest U.S. dividend ETFs, is a solid place to start, particularly for dividend investors looking for steadily rising payouts. The $19.77 billion SDY tracks the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index, which requires member firms to have minimum dividend increase streaks of 20 years.There are plenty of dividend-paying stocks in the U.S. and many of the best ETFs hold those stocks, but requiring two decades of higher payouts helps investors identify the cream of the dividend crop. As such, SDY is home to just 111 stocks. For long-term investors, dividends are an integral part of their outcomes."Over the past 30 years, dividends from S&P 500 stocks have, on average, contributed exactly half of the index's total return on an annual basis," according to State Street research. "While price returns of equities can fluctuate year over year, dividends tend to be more stable, consistently offering a positive contribution to total return each year."SDY, which yields 2.39%, allocates nearly 34% of its combined weight to the industrial and financial services sectors. iShares Edge MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.15%The quality factor makes a lot of sense for investors of all skill levels, but with this current bull market aging by the day, novice investors, in particular, may want to consider quality stocks. The iShares Edge MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (CBOE:QUAL) is one of the best ETFs for accessing a broad basket of domestic stocks with the quality designation.The $11.30 billion QUAL, which holds 125 stocks, defines quality with the following metrics: return on equity, earnings variability and debt-to-equity. Long-term performance data indicate that the quality factor not only provides substantial upside capture in bull markets, but reduces some of the downside often experienced in bear markets. * 5 Stocks to Sell in May Before Investors Go Away "Quality strategies seek enhanced returns versus the market through exposure to profitable companies with less debt and more stable earnings," according to BlackRock. "Since the Quality factor has historically delivered more upside capture with less downside resilience, it may be more appropriate for risk-aware, return seeking investors." Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYLB)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.15%Bonds are an important part of the retirement asset class mix and fixed income funds are among the best ETFs for consideration in IRAs. Conventional wisdom dictates that older investors may want to shy away from riskier fixed income investments, but younger investors with the luxury of more time can consider high-yield corporate debt. For cost-conscious investors, the Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HYLB) is one of the best ETFs in the junk bond space to consider.HYLB, which tracks the Solactive USD High Yield Corporates Total Market Index, debuted in late 2016 with an expense ratio 0.15%. Proving the usefulness of low fees, HYLB is now home to more than $2.8 billion in assets under management and has forced some rivals to cut fees on junk bond ETFs or create comparably-priced funds.HYLB holds over 1,000 bonds and has a yield to worst of 6%. Over 90% of the fund's holdings are rated BB or B, but it does have a 6% weight to speculative CCC-rated debt. Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.05%Some of the best ETFs for IRAs are international equity funds, something investors should remember because many are often over-allocated to domestic equities. Fortunately, some of the best ETFs for international exposure are also some of the cheapest. That includes the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:VEA).In fact, VEA's already modest fee was recently pared to 0.05% from 0.07%. Home to $72.52 billion in assets under management, VEA is not just the largest international ETF trading in the U.S., it is the sixth-largest ETF of any variety. This is also one of the best ETFs for investors looking for a big basket of stocks as VEA is home nearly 4,000 holdings. * Mother's Day 2019: 10 High-Tech Gifts Your Mom Will Love Japan and the U.K. combine for almost 37% of VEA's geographic exposure while Canada and France combine for 17.10%. Over the past three years, VEA has modestly outpaced the MSCI EAFE Index with slightly less volatility. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.14%Keeping with the theme of international equity exposure, emerging markets funds are among the best ETFs for risk-tolerant retirement planners and younger investors with lengthy time horizons. The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:IEMG) confirms that some of the best ETFs in the emerging markets space are also inexpensive.In terms of superficial superlatives, IEMG is the second-largest emerging markets ETF trading in the U.S. and one of the least expensive. IEMG targets the MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index and has been one of the top ETFs in terms of new assets added over the past several years.IEMG holds over 2,200 stocks and its three-year standard deviation of just under 13% is palatable for many investors. Making emerging markets solid ideas for long-term investors are the depressed valuations seen in many of developing economies coupled with still robust economic growth expectations.More than 15 countries are represented in IEMG, but China is the dominant geographic exposure at 30.74%, a percentage that is likely to increase later this year when MSCI adds more Chinese A-shares to its international indexes.Todd Shriber does not own any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * The 10 Best Stocks to Buy for May * 5 Elephant-Sized Companies Warren Buffett Could Buy * 7 Cheap ETFs for Novice Investors Compare Brokers The post 5 of the Best Retirement ETFs for Your IRA appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Vanguard, the second-largest U.S. issuer of exchange traded funds, is again wielding its low-cost sword. On April 26, Vanguard said it's lowering fees on 21 of its ETFs, including its two largest funds, ...

Over the past several years, some of the largest issuers of exchange traded funds, including BlackRock’s iShares and State Street’s SPDR ETFs, have reduced fees on existing ETFs, introduced new low-cost ...

Over the last decade, the ETF emerged as one of the most popular investment vehicles. “ETF” stands for exchange-traded fund, which is a type of security that tracks an index, bonds, commodities, currencies, ...

In the world of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) ecosystem, the market seemingly begins and ends with the ETF issuer. Summarily, the issuer is responsible for the creation and administration of the ETF. ...

In the world of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sheer size can come in the form of market capitalization. With total ETF assets currently standing at over the $3 trillion mark, here are 10 of the biggest according to market capitalization, as of Dec. 20, 2018. 1. SPY seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500® Index.

Countries around the world are flush with their respective holiday décor as Christmas is two weeks away, but as volatility continues to shake the U.S. stock market, certain investors are singing, "Joy to the World" with international exposure via developed market exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The U.S.-China trade wars have gotten the best of international markets, emerging and developed, for the majority of 2018, but lately, news outlets have been drizzling the capital markets with positive news on trade talks between the two economic superpowers progressing in the right direction. The markets got a much-needed boost Tuesday on renewed optimism that a permanent trade deal between the United States and China was progressing based on a Bloomberg report that China would slash the current 15 percent tariff on cars to 40 percent.

Ex-U.S. developed markets exchange traded funds are tumbling this year, but plenty of investors remain devoted to the asset class. The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSE: IEFA ), one of the largest and least ...

In the meantime, trade wars have been racking international and emerging market funds, but one in particular, the EquBot AI Powered International Equity ETF (AIIQ) , produced a strong third quarter performance using a proprietary, quantitative model driven by artificial intelligence. Launched in June 2018, AIIQ is the first international-focused ETF that has successfully used AI to construct an international equity portfolio. While its developed market-focused fund peers experienced mixed results due to a choppy international market during Q3, AIIQ was able to buck the trend and deliver a return in excess of 3.4%, which bested its benchmark index--the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) .

The disconnect between U.S. equities and international stocks is growing wider, but this disparity will not last forever. After the recent underperformance in foreign markets, exchange traded fund investors may find an opportune moment to jump into relatively cheap global equities. For instance, if one looks at price momentum – it is positive for US stocks and negative for Europe and Emerging markets across all relevant lookback windows [one month, three months, six months and 12 months].

Stocks across the globe have suffered their worst first half in a year since 2010, wiping out trillions of dollars from the MSCI's 47-country world index. Inside the hot and flop ETFs in terms of fund flows.

VALLEY FORGE, Pa., July 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard today announced substantial reductions in the cost of investing with the firm by providing commission-free online transactions for the vast majority of ETFs. Vanguard, which has offered commission-free transactions of Vanguard ETFs since 2010, is broadening access beyond the company's 77 low-cost ETFs to nearly 1,800 offerings, including ETFs from BlackRock, Schwab, and SSgA. "Vanguard has led the industry in reducing the cost and complexity of investing for all investors for more than four decades.